EU plans to restore Schengen by November

The European Union will unveil on Friday a “road map” to restore by November the Schengen passport-free travel area, which is nearing collapse because of the migration crisis, sources said.

The plan, a draft of which has been seen by AFP, includes quickly creating an EU coast guard system and strengthening Greece’s external border, the main point of entry for refugees and migrants to Europe.

After nearly two decades of European free travel, the 26-country Schengen area is tottering as several member states unilaterally reintroduce border controls to stop migrants passing from Greece to richer northern European countries.

“We will adopt tomorrow a road map on how to restore a fully functioning Schengen system,” a source in the European Commission, the executive arm of the EU, told AFP.